Wednesday, April 16, 2008

The dentist

I used to have an ordinary dentist. Then one day I received a letter in the mail saying that my dentist was moving "back east." But not to worry, a new dentist was taking his place. So when it came time to schedule my next appointment, I did so. What a surprise when the new dentist walked in. He was such a cutie! So the next thing to do is to make sure that my kids have their check ups with the same dentist too ;)
One night I'm out with some neighbor friends and one of my friends just went to her dentist. She said that she now has a new dentist. And her new dentist is very good looking. So I tell her that I also have a good looking dentist. As you probably guessed, we have the same dentist. It's nice to have a friend who understands the importance of having a good looking dentist. I mean what else do you want to do while you're laying with your mouth open, funny glasses on and a bright light shining. You want to daydream about a good looking guy! Why not have a nice image to get you started?
Recently I decided that I was ready for my next cleaning. I called to make an appointment on a Wednesday or a Thursday morning since these are the only days that both of my kids are in school. The receptionist tells me that the dentist has openings on Saturday. Apparently Wednesday or Thursday mornings means Saturday to her? Much to my dismay, I find out that this cutie has decided to close the office on Wednesdays and Thursdays and is open on Saturdays instead. After a moment of silence, I realize that this doesn't exactly work for me. So I venture out to find a new dentist.
What's the first thing you do when you need a new dentist, you check your insurance website for a list to get started, then you search for a dentist on that list that has their own website and look to see if any posted a pic! ;) But it didn't work. So I call and find one who is taking new patients and does take my insurance. I ask for an appointment and I'm told that the first appointment won't be a cleaning but a consultation. I'm wondering why I can't get a cleaning done. I feel like a "consultation" is a nice way of saying that we'll bill your insurance and waste your time, but I try not to jump to conclusions. So I ask why I can't have a cleaning done on the first visit. The answer was that they wouldn't know what kind of cleaning I need. So I'm thinking if I call a dentist and ask for a cleaning, most people can figure out that I need a teeth cleaning. I'll give you a hint, it starts with "t," but if this dentist can't figure out what I need cleaned, this may not be the right dentist for me. No matter how cute he may be!
I call another dentist and this time I am able to make an appointment for a cleaning and they didn't even ask what needs to be cleaned!!! After the cleaning and about a hundred x-rays they decide that I need some old fillings replaced. This does not surprise me and I've heard it before so I agree and schedule the next appointment for almost a month later. During that month, I receive a handwritten thank you card from my dentist's office. I thought that was strange. And they called a week before my appointment to tell me that they are looking forward to seeing me. I take that as a nice way to say, "don't forget!" T
oday was the day. I went to have 3 old fillings replaced. 3 hours later I walked out of the dentist's office with a root canal appointment for the next day. I also learned that my mouth is very small. They had to use some dental type things that are for kids because the ones for adults were too large for my mouth! So no one can ever call me "big mouth" again! I also learned that the dental assistant was named after her German father and the dentist's wife is the person who really runs that office. I'm not exactly looking forward to going back to the dentist tomorrow. Do you think he would mind if I asked him to paint that surgical type mask with the image of the old cutie dentist. It's really hard to lay there for so long looking at him, when I was just getting used to laying there and enjoying the view! You know what they say, (specifically my coupon friend, Lesley) "eye candy doesn't cause cavities!"

2 comments:

Hokie'98 said...

I think somewhere along the line dentistry has gotten too comercial. I went to a new dentist 7 months ago. After a million and one x-rays, they decided I had 4 cavities and needed a root canal. I left the office with an appointment for the fillings, but I did not schedule the root canal. After thinking about things more, I called and canceled the new appointment. After all, the dentist I saw 1 year before said everything looked good. I know dentists have different philosophies, but come on. I think the "new" dentist was just after my money. --especially after she (her office) started calling me biweekly to get me to reschedule the fillings. If the dentist is that good, she shouldn't need to solicite patients, right? Anyway, at this point I figure I will seek a third opinion and if they concur with the "new" dentist, I'll go ahead and schedule some work. But unless the new new dentist is a looker, I won't be fantasizing about a dentist while I'm in the chair:)

Cookie said...

Wow! That's a big difference. I felt the same way about trying this dentist. They took a ton of x-rays! Hub said the same thing, that they knew they could bill the insurance for them, so they did.
One thing that I've heard other moms comment on, is that your teeth go down hill after having kids :( and that's been my experience too. If you're going to get another opinion, make sure you have something nice to look at while you're in that chair! ;)